


Can't Bottle Love

by Eastofthemoon



Series: Something Familiar [10]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Familiars, Family Feels, Fluff and Angst, Friendship/Love, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery, Slice of Life, Team as Family, Witch AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-06
Updated: 2019-03-06
Packaged: 2019-11-13 02:20:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18022961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eastofthemoon/pseuds/Eastofthemoon
Summary: Hunk knows he's loved by many people, but he underestimated on just exactly how much he is loved.





	Can't Bottle Love

Hunk clicked his tongue as he checked over his list. “Okay, so we almost have everything,” he said as he grasped his chin. “We just need some fresh apples for the pie and we’re all set.”

Shiro glanced into the large paper bag he was already carrying. “Do we really need an apple pie to go with dinner?” He pointed to the contents of the bag as they turned the next corner. “We already got plenty of food here.”

Hunk stopped dead in his tracks, placed his hands on his hips and gave Shiro a skeptic look. “Is there a reason we can’t have pie?”

Shiro raised a hand as he opened his mouth, but then began to lower it as he seem to struggle to give an answer.

Hunk smirked as he turned back around. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

Shiro chuckled lightly as he pointed to the bakery across the street. “I just mean, we could just buy a pie instead of having you bake one. You like their stuff there, right?”

Hunk glanced to the shop and nodded. “Yeah, they got great stuff in there,” he said but then held up two fingers. “However, I want to bake it myself and besides Shay is the one that gave me this pie recipe. So, I want to make certain I have already tried it by the time I see her again.”

“Shay?” Shiro asked, but then he nodded. “Oh, right, she’s one of the bakers there.”

Hunk nodded. He liked Shay, she was fun to chat to. Granted he only saw her when he went in there to shop, but they were slowly becoming friends over just exchanging recipes. Shay had just tired Hunk’s favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, so it only seemed fair he try her favorite pie recipe before he saw her again.

“The fruit vendor is just the one over there,” Hunk said as he pointed ahead. “I won’t be long.”

“Take your time,” Shiro said as he marched over to a bench and set the bag down. “I’ll just catch my breath here while you shop, then we’ll head back?”

“Sure thing,” Hunk said with a quick wave. “Won’t be long.”

He didn’t have to go far. The market wasn’t over crowded today, thus it was easy to make his towards the vendor. He noticed Mister Heart who ran the stand wasn’t there, but his daughter was managing it.

She seemed too focussed on arranging the pears to realize Hunk was approaching.

“Hey, Mallory,” Hunk greeted. “Quiet day.”

The girl jumped, nearly knocking the pears over, and then blushed as she saw Hunk.

“Oh, uh, hi Hunk,” she mumbled as she fiddled with the tip of her braid. “I..I didn’t see you there.”

Hunk tried his best to smile. Mallory was a nice girl, but she was extremely shy. She was always blushing and turning her face away whenever Hunk came by. 

_At least she’s able to talk to me now_ , he thought. _Before she could hardly form sentences._

“I just need to get some apples,” he said as he reached for his wallet. “About a dozen.”

“Apples, right, sure,” Mallory mumbled as she reached for a paper bag and began to fill it. “Uh..planning on making something?”

“Yeah, a pie recipe,” Hunk said as he crossed his arms. “My friend Shay gave it to me.”

Mallory paused briefly as she reached for another apple. “Oh, I see. Um, that’s nice.”

Hunk raised an eyebrow, but tossed his thought aside. It was probably nothing. “How are your university classes?”

“They’re fine,” Mallory said as she finished filing the bag and handed it over. “There you go. A full dozen.”

Hunk took the bag as he handed over the money. “Awesome, thanks.” He gave a wave. “I’ll see you around.”

Hunk turned around to walk away, except Mallory seized his arm.

“Wait...uh,” she stammered as she blushed. “I..I have something for you to try.”

Hunk frowned as he turned back around. “Oh yeah?”

“It..it’s a new drink. D-Dad and I are thinking about selling fruit drinks,” she stammered as she reached under table.

“Really?” Hunk said as he scratched his head. “He never mentioned that to me.”

Mister Heart was always super eager to tell Hunk about any new kinds of fruit they got in. Although, them actually selling drinks didn’t seem to quite fit.

“It..was a last minute thing,” Mallory said as she brought out a small bottle. “Um..but he said to give it to you as a free sample. Get your opinion since..you’re a valuable customer.”

“Uh..sure,” Hunk said as he took the bottle and frowned. “Um..well, not to be picky but you should at least have a label on this thing.” He tapped the glass. It looked like Mister Heart had just taken an old soda bottle and filled it up.

Mallory rubbed her hands as she gave a shaky nod. “Yes, uh, I’ll take note of that.”

Hunk unscrew the cap, took a sip and took everything he had not to spit it out. The liquid was bitter, but that wasn’t nearly as terrible as the after taste once he swallowed. On reflex he stuck out his tongue as he screwed the cap back on.

“Mallory, I don’t want to sound mean here,” he said slowly, “but that stuff is awful.”

“Uh really?” Mallory said as she suddenly seem to straighten her posture. “Is..that all you feel?”

Hunk raised an eyebrow. He was afraid he scare Mallory away, but she was actually staring right into his eyes like she was expecting it. Weird.

“Uh, yeah,” Hunk said as he shook the bottle. “I don’t know what fruits you guys used, but it’s a bad combo.”

Mallory glanced to the bottle, frowned and tilted her head. “But...that’s all you have to say?”

“Yeah,” Hunk sighed as tuck the bottle into his bag of apples. “Look, I’ll try to write some proper notes for your dad later, okay?” He pointed over his shoulder. “My friend Shiro has been waiting long enough.”

“Uh...alright,” Mallory said with tinge of disappointment in her voice. “I’ll..see you later then..maybe.”

“Uh..sure,” Hunk said as he turned around and started to walk back towards Shiro.

Something about the whole encounter felt odd. Did Mallory give him the drink knowing it would taste bad? Was it for a prank? He shook his head of the notion. No, Mallory didn’t seem the type to pull something like that.

Then his stomach gurgled and Hunk cringed as he placed a hand over his stomach. “Oh, I hope that drink doesn’t come back to haunt me.” 

080808080808080808080808080808080808080808080808080

Hunk’s head hurt and every bird chirp he heard from the nearby tree seem to blast in his ear like a megaphone. He had to wonder if this what it was like to experience a hangover?

“Hunk, you feeling alright?”

Hunk blinked as he grasped his head. Who said that? It sounded familiar. He glanced to the side and spotted Shiro’s face staring at him. Oh, right, Shiro was with him. How did he forget that?

“I mostly feel fine,” Hunk muttered as he tried to focus on walking. 

Shiro’s eyes narrowed. “ Saying ‘mostly’ hints that there is something wrong,” he said as he placed a hand on Hunk’s forehead. “Although, you don’t seem to have a fever.”

“It’s nothing,” Hunk said and ignored that his words were slurring. “My stomach is just not liking that drink I had.”

Shiro removed his hand as he raised an eyebrow. “Drink? What drink?”

“Didn’t I tell you?” Hunk said as he fumbled into the bag and brought out the bottle. “I got a free drink from Mallory.” He cupped a hand over his mouth as he whispered. “Although, it tastes REALLY bad.”

Shiro frowned as he removed the cap, sniffed it and then instantly drew it back. “It certainly doesn’t smell great.” He pointed to it. “And you drank this?”

“Just a sip,” Hunk said as he rubbed his head. “However, something that small shouldn’t affect me that much.”

Shiro didn’t seem convinced as he put the cap back on and then wrapped his arm around Hunk. “Let’s get you home then and have Allura take a look at you,” he said as he lead the lead. 

“Why? Allura’s not a doctor,” Hunk mumbled as they walked and he leaned against. “And it’s not that bad, I probably need to sleep it off.”

“Yeah..probably,” Shiro replied, but it didn’t sound like he meant it.

Without meaning to Hunk began to tune out his surroundings as he massaged his forehead. They reached home far faster than he expected, and Hunk forced himself to pay attention as Shiro lead him through the door.

“I want to head to bed,” Hunk said. “Thinking my cat form would be better.”

Curling up on a pillow with his tail wrapped around himself sounded like the best thing ever.

“Don’t blame you,” Shiro said as he forced him to sit on the couch and helped Hunk remove his coat, “but just hang on a bit, okay? Just until Allura checks you out.”

Hunk gave a pout, but then pounding in his head forced him to lay back. “Yeah, alright,” he said and then tugged on Shiro’s arm. “Don’t forget to put away groceries.”

Shiro patted Hunk’s shoulder as he got Hunk to let go. “No problem, just relax here okay?”

“Yeah, alright,” Hunk said as he shut his eyes and rubbed them.

He barely noticed Shiro left the room, and assumed he was alone until he felt something poke his arm. He blinked wearily and realized it was Pidge in her cat form. Her ears flicked as she sniffed at him.

“Hey, Pidge,” he said in a slurred tone as he waved. “Don’t mind me, just not feeling a hundred percent.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” said another voice.

Hunk looked up and frowned. “Whoa, Keith when did you get in here?”

“Same time Pidge did, you must be out of it if you hadn’t noticed,” he said as he knelt and felt Hunk’s forehead. “You don’t feel warm, but you look like….”

Pidge changed forms and shook the finger. “Something the cat dragged in.”

Keith shot her an unimpressed look. “I wasn’t going to say that.”

“But you were thinking it,” she said with a sly grin but then frowned as she looked back to Hunk. “Mind you, he does smell weird. Did you go drinking?”

“No,” Hunk muttered and frankly starting to feel very irritated at these questiosn. “Well, I drank something...can’t I just sleep?”

“Not yet,” Keith stated firmly as he tugged on Hunk to sit up. “We came in here because Shiro told us to keep an eye on you.”

Hunk glared as suddenly Shiro reappeared with Coran, Allura and Lance lagging behind him. Lance blinked and cringed at the sight of him.

“Whoa, Shiro wasn’t kidding,” he muttered. “He looks awful.”

“Gee, thanks,” Hunk grumbled as he slouched. “Can I please change to cat form and sleep it off?”

“Not yet,” Allura said gently as she sat next to him. “Hunk, tell me exactly what you drank?”

Hunk sighed as he rubbed his head. “I don’t know, it was just like a new fruit drink Mallory wanted me to try, but it tastes terrible.”

“And you only took a small sip?” Allura said as wrinkles formed in her forehead.

“Yeah, just a sip,” Hunk said.

“And did you keep the rest?” Allura asked.

“Right here,” Shiro said as he handed over the bottle. “Thought you would like to see it.”  
Allura took the bottle, shut her eyes and she traced a finger over the glass. Her eyes suddenly widened and she looked alarmed.

Hunk froze as he tossed his grumpiness aside. “What’s wrong?”

Allura put on a strained smile. “Oh, nothing,” she said as she patted his head. “Lance, Keith could you two keep an eye on Hunk?” She tilted her head to the right. “The rest of you I need to see in the kitchen..for assistance.”

The group exchanged baffled expressions, but didn’t argue as they did what Allura instructed. 

Hunk groaned as he flopped back on the couch. “Can I please go to sleep now?”

“Sorry, big guy, not yet,” Keith said as he crossed his arm. “You didn’t think it was weird Mallory gave you something to drink like that?”

Hunk raised an eyebrow. “Uh no. It was a new product and I’m one of their most regular customers.”

Lance scoffed. “Heh, more like you’re one of her ‘favorite’ customers.”

Hunk blinked as he tried to ignore the headache. “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

Lance blinked as he straightened his posture. “Wait...have you not clued in?”

“Clued in to what?” Hunk asked.

Keith frowned. “I’ll admit, I’m just as confused.”

“Seriously?” Lance tossed his hands up in the air. “She ALWAYS makes certain Hunk gets the best pick, and just happens to give you discounts?”

Hunk shrugged. “She’s a nice girl and it’s good business.”

“Dude, the way she looks at you, it’s not just about ‘business’,” Lance stated flatly as he did some air quotes with his fingers.

Hunk was tempted to ask what he meant, but decided to drop the topic for the moment. It took enough energy to simply resist curling up on the pillow. Finally, Coran reappeared with a steaming cup of tea.

“Here, my boy, drink this,” Coran said as he held it out to him.

Hunk took it, sniffed it and paused. “This...smells a bit odd.” He narrowed his eyes. “I’ve already had one drink give me an upset stomach, I rather not make it worse with a second one.”

Coran waved his arms. “Don’t worry, this will help you feel better. It’s one of Alfor’s own recipes.” He placed a hand over his chest. “I’ve even drank it a few times myself. Trust me on this.”

Hunk sighed and against his better judgement slowly sipped the tea. It was a bit sour, but he found it more pleasant than Mallroy’s drink, not to mention the warmth of tea was soothing on his throat. Before he realized it, Hunk swallowed the last mouthful and handed it back to Coran.

“Am I finally allowed to sleep now?” he asked.

Coran patted his back. “Yes, and frankly it will be the best thing for you.”

“Finally,” Hunk said and didn’t waste a second shifting back into his cat form.

Keith stood up and stroked Hunk’s head. “I’ll get you a blanket,” he said.

“And I’ll get his favorite pillow,” Lance replied.

Hunk would have meowed a thanks, but he just curled up and shut his eyes. He felt hands scoop him up just long enough for him to be placed on a pillow and then a blanket wrapped around him.

Hunk yawned and gave a quiet purr before he drifted off. He wasn’t certain how long he slept, but when he awoke he felt a million times better. He slowly arched his back and stretched. There was still a bitter taste lingering in his mouth, but at least his head wasn’t aching like before.

_Guess that tea did the drink,_ Hunk thought before he went to lick his paw. He then spotted the window and pause. It was still daylight. _That’s odd. I went shopping with Shiro in mid-afternoon. I would have thought it have gotten dark by…_ His eyes then spotted the clock and he froze. _9? Like AM?_

Hunk lurched. Did he sleep that long?! It felt like he only been asleep for a few hours. He shook his head. _Man, that means everyone had to cook for themselves last night. I better make it up to them-_

“I still say we should just go down there and confront her!”

Hunk jumped and then froze when he realized Keith was yelling from the kitchen.

“Keith, we can’t do that,” Shiro said calmly. “We don’t know for certain it was her.”

“She’s the one that gave Hunk that drink!” Keith shouted back. “Who else could it be?”

Hunk blinked as he hopped off the couch and went to approach. Who were they talking about?”

“Hey, calm down mullet,” Lance replied. “We don’t have all the facts here.”

“They seem rather clear to me,” Pidge grumbled. “I’m on Keith’s side here.”

“Pidge,” Shiro scolded.

Hunk peeked around the corner in time to see Allura scowling as she tapped her foot. “I have always wondered how hard it would be to turn someone into a frog.”

Shiro looked up from the kitchen table and sighed. “Allura, not you too.”

Hunk cringed at the look of fury on her face as she crossed her arms. When was the last time he saw her that angry? 

“She tried to poison Hunk,” Allura replied hotly. “This is something I can not just brush aside!”

Hunk froze. Poison?! What were they talking about?!

“We don’t know that for certain,” Coran replied back gently as he touched her shoulder. “Yout are correct to be upset, but Mallory isn’t a witch. It doesn’t make sense.”

Allura whipped her head around. “That doesn’t change the fact that I definitely sense magic coming from that-”

Hunk let loose a meow and the room went dead silent. Everyone turned around and relief washed over all their faces upon seeing him.

“Hunk,” Pidge said as she kneeled and patted his head. “You feeling okay?”

Hunk took the moment to shift back to human form so he could cross his arms and narrowed his eyes. “Oh, yeah, great, fantastic,” he then shook a finger, “but what is this about someone POISONING ME!?”

The group exchanged sheepish looks before Keith stepped up to him. “Hunk, don’t freak out-”

“Way too late for that,” Hunk replied. “Was I that sick?”

“You were more like a combination of being sick and having a hangover,” Shiro said as he stood up. “You didn’t seem in danger, so Allura brewed up one of her father’s recipes that suppose to be good when someone is sick.”

Hunk raised an eyebrow. So that's why he felt better? “Alright, glad to know, but can we get back to the poisoning part?”

Allura sighed as she folded her hands. “That drink you had, the one Mallory gave you, I detected bits of magic coming from it.” She placed her hands on Hunk’s shoulder. “She gave you a potion, Hunk.”

Hunk opened and shut his mouth. Now that he thought about it, he did think that whole exchange with Mallory was off. He frowned. “What was the potion supposed to do?”

“We have no clue,” Lance said as he tossed up his hand. “From what Allura and Pidge could tell the herbs and spells used just makes a person sick.”

Hunk shook his head. “No, no, that doesn’t make sense.” He marched forward as he went to sit at the table. “I mean, Mallory’s not a witch.”

“That doesn’t mean she didn’t get the potion from an actual witch that made it,” Keith voiced.

Hunk shut his eyes. “No way, I refuse to believe it. She’s a nice person.”

“Not to mention she doesn’t seem the type that would hurt the person she likes,” Lance replied.

Hunk cracked opened an eye and glanced to him. “What are you talking about?”

“Yes, Lance,” Allura said as she looked equally confused. “What do you mean?”

Lance’s mouth dropped and Hunk quickly realized it was due to everyone sharing the same baffled expression. “Seriously? Am I the only one that picked up on this?!” He groaned as he buried his face into his hands. “You guys need to watch more romance movies.”

“What?” Hunk asked.

Lance then pulled up the chair, sat next to him and cupped his cheeks so he was staring directly into Lance’s eyes. 

“SHE. LIKES. YOU,” Lance said slowly. “And I’m not talking about as a good customer, I mean she has a mega crush on you and would probably like to date you.”

“WHAT?!” the room cried in unison as Hunk’s jaw dropped.

“Lance, are you sure?” Shiro asked as he leaned forward.

Lance rolled his eyes. “Of course. Did none of you ever noticed how she looks at him, or if it’s one of us buying there she’s always asking how Hunk’s doing? It’s a classic crush.”

Hunk opened and shut his mouth before he waved his hands around. “No, no way. Lance, there’s no way it’s a crush.”

“Dude, yes it is,” Lance replied as he leaned in his chair. “Not saying you have to date her, but she has clearly been interested in you for like the past two months.”

Hunk felt his cheeks turn bright red. Mallory liked him? No...no way. No way could this be happening.

“If that’s the case why would she poison him?” Keith asked as he stepped forward.

“Yes, yes,” Hunk said as he hastily pointed his finger at Keith. “What he said!”

For some reason the idea Mallory wanting to date him was less believable than that he was poisoned.

Lance’s frown tightened as he stared up at the ceiling. “I’ll admit, that’s the part I really don’t get, but my gut isn’t wrong here.”

Suddenly, the doorbell rang and Hunk never felt so grateful for it. “Who’s that?” Hunk asked, and was so not trying to change the subject.

“It must be one of the Blades,” Coran commented as he left the room.

“I’ll get it,” Pidge said as she quickly left the room.

Hunk lowered his hand as he looked to Allura. “You called the Blades? Why?”

“Poisoning someone with a potion is a serious offense,” Allura said as she sat next to him. “It needs to be looked into.”

“But I’m okay,” Hunk said as he placed a hand over his chest. “I feel fine now.”

“You are, but what if she tried to do this to someone else or whoever made the potion did?” She patted Hunk’s shoulder. “I know you don’t wish for her to get into trouble, but we have to learn the truth and ensure no one else is harmed.”

Hunk shut his mouth. What Allura said made sense, but still would the Blades hurt Mallory? Would she be arrested and put in like..magic jail? Wait, did they have magic jail? It suddenly occurred to him he didn’t know that much about them.

After hearing footsteps, Pidge’s head appeared in the doorway. “Shiro, you in a good mood today?”

Shiro tilted his head. “Um..well now that I know Hunk is okay, I guess I am?”

“Because I doubt you’ll be in it much longer,” she commented as she entered and stepped aside.

“Yoo hoo,” Sven greeted with a smile as he entered carrying a large bag. “Nice to see you all.”

“Sven?” Shiro said and then his eyes narrowed. “Wait, if you’re here..then that means...”

Slav cleared his throat as he stepped around Sven and tucked his arms behind his back. “Good day, everyone.”

Shiro groaned as he slapped his forehead. “Oh no,” he muttered.

Pidge came over and patted his arm. “I did warn you.”

Allura patted Shiro’s shoulder before she quickly went over to Slav. “It’s nice to see you two, but what are you doing here?”

“The Blades sent us,” Sven said as he leaned against the wall.

“We happened to already in town,” Slav said as he set a large case on the table. “I was at the Blades headquarters doing some work when you called.” He puffed out his chest and placed a hand over it. “Considering I am the leading expert when it comes to potions it was only natural I come.”

Sven smirked. “Also, he felt he still owed you for saving our hometown.”

Slav blushed slightly as he coughed. “Yes, well...about thirty percent at least.”

Shiro sighed as he rubbed his neck and forced a smile as he stepped forward. “Alright, so what happened was-”

“I was already told the details by Kolivan,” Slav said as he looked to Hunk. “You were given an unknown potion that at the very least made you ill.” He raised an eyebrow. “And you are certain the girl is not a witch herself?”

“Not that we know of,” Coran said.

“And it’s not in her nature to do something like this,” Hunk said as he crossed his arms. “It just must have been an accident or something.”

“Hmm...we shall see,” Slav said as he opened his case. “Please bring me the potion so I can examine it.” He cast a wary glance to Shiro. “And please try not to shake it up too much. If you do-”

“I run the risk of ruining the potency of the potion,” Shiro muttered darkly. “I do remember that from your last ‘lesson’.”

Slav crossed his arms. “Since this is our only second meeting I estimated there was at least a forty percent chance you forgot.”

Hunk noticed Shiro’s eye twitched as he left the room. He seemed much more calm by the time he came back with the bottle in hand.

Sven then took it and without words being said poured the contents into a vial as Slav brought out his instruments. The room went quiet as Slav brought up a bunsen burner and heated up the potion. It turned different shades of colour as Slav quickly took notes.

“Interesting,” he muttered as he put his gloves on and picked up the potion. He muttered under his breath and saw bright bits of green light up in the vial.

Sven frowned as he looked over his shoulder. “Bits of roseblood petals?”

Slav nodded. “Yes,” Slav said as he sniffed it and scratched his chin. He then snapped his fingers. “Ah ha! It also has the faint odor of crushed juniberries as well.”

Sven’s eyes widened and then frowned as he put on his own gloves. “Ah..so it’s that.” He picked the vial up from Slav. “Been awhile since we’ve dealt with one of those.”

“One of what?” Shiro said as he reached out to the vial to inspect it himself. 

Slav whacked his hand away and huffed. “What are you doing?! You never reach for a vial without gloves?!” He looked to Allura. “You should really teach your cat to not be so reckless.”

Allura gave a nervous smile as Shiro glared at Slav. “Yes..I will make a note of that.”

“Um..can we get back to the part of wondering if this stuff was suppose to kill me?” Hunk asked as he resisted the urge to grab the vial itself.

Sven blinked and seemed to just remember why they were there. “Oh yes, sorry, but you didn’t have anything to worry about.” He hand the vial back to Slav. “While this would have made you sick, it wasn’t fatal. The worst it would have done was make you feel like you had the flu for a day or so.”

Hunk’s felt the worry leave his body as his shoulders slumped. “Oh, thank goodness.”

Slav nodded as he set the vial done. “Yes, it’s unfortunately a common side effect for these love potions.”

Hunk choked as everyone’s eyes widened in response. “Say...that again?”

“It’s a love potion,” Slav said and not looking the least bit intimidated by their reactions. “Or, at the very least, someone’s very cheap version of one.”

“Ha!’ Lance exclaimed as he pumped a fist. “Love potion! Mallory did it because she had a crush on Hunk! I so called it!”

“Lance, not now,” Shiro said as he leaned over the table. “It can’t be a love potion.”

“Agreed since there is no such thing,” Allura replied looking just a baffled. “It’s been proven impossible to use magic to force someone to fall in love with someone else.”

Hunk’s mind was still reeling from everything he was hearing. “Yeah..like I didn’t feel anything besides my head hurting.” He froze. “Wait, if Allura hadn’t made me that tea, in a few hours would I have fallen in love with Mallory as a delayed reaction or-”

“No! No!” Slav said as he shook a finger. “I just said it was a ‘love potion.’ When did I say it actually worked?”

Coran tilted his head. “Um..I am afraid we don’t follow.”

Sven folded his hands on the table. “What Slav means is that there have been witches in the past that create potions and call them ‘love potions’ to trick people into buying them.” 

Keith frowned. “So..it’s a scam?”

“Very much,” Slav said as he frowned. “The chances of making a genuine love potion is non-existence. There are just too many variables to account for.” He counted on his fingers. “You would have to override a person’s own sexuality and that’s assuming they have a sex drive.” He gave a laugh. “I mean, can you imagine a woman trying to get a man who was only attracted to other men to fall in love with her? It’s just not possible.”

“However, that doesn’t stop some witches claiming to have made love potions and not caring about the consequences to the person who drinks it,” Sven said as he grasped his chin.

“Sssoo...then Mallory likely bought this from a witch who told her that Hunk would fall in love with her if he drank it?” Allura said as she crossed her arms.

“The evidence points to that being at least 90 percent that is what has taken place,” Slav said slowly.

Hunk rubbed his eyes. He wanted to deny it, but considering how Mallory acted that did seem likely. “But..where did she even buy this? As far as I know Mallory’s family has nothing to do with magic.”

“I believe that is the real question the Blades will want to know,” Sven replied with a sigh. “Selling ‘love potions’ is illegal and if there is a witch seller that has been secretly selling them we need to find out.”

Shiro frowned. “Would the Blades question Mallory?”

Hunk went still. 

Slav shut his eyes. “From what you say, it would be tricky. The Blades try not to involve people who don’t know about magic in their work. However, considering this girl would be their only lead I would say there is about an 85 percent chance they would ask her.”

Hunk’s eyes harden. “And what would happen if they did have to question her?”

Sven leaned forward. “They would try to be discreet about it and just cast a simple truth spell on her.”

“Truth spell?” Hunk said.

“It doesn’t harm her,” Slav continued. “It’s just a charm she would wear around her neck to detect if she was lying. They then would try to approach the subject without letting her realize magic was real.” He rubbed his neck. “If she thought it was real they would have to determine if it was a threat for her to know about it or not.”

“And if they deemed it was a threat?” Hunk asked.

Slav shrugged. “They would just erase her memory of the incident.”

Hunk choked. “Isn’t that extreme?”

“It’s very rare,” Sven replied quickly as he touched Hunk’s shoulder, “and the charms they use would only remove any hints of magic from her memory. I’m sure it won’t come to that.”

Hunk didn’t feel as certain. Ulaz and Thace had been nice guys, but how did Hunk know the rest of the Blades weren’t a bunch of jerks? What if they had decided Mallory was a threat? Even if the chance was small, it didn’t sit right with him to poke around someone’s brain like that.

“Hunk, are you alright?” Allura asked as she patted his shoulder.

Hunk sighed as he rose. “Sorry, I need to get some air.”

Allura frowned. “I’m not sure if that wise considering that you are still recovering-”

“Actually going for physical exercise will help improve his current health by at least 20 percent,” Slav replied as he shook a finger.

Allura shot a glare until Shiro sighed. “I hate to say it, but I think Slav has a point.” He looked to Hunk. “Just take it easy, okay?”

“Yeah, sure,” Hunk said as he waved and left. He quietly reached for his coat from the coat rack and slipped it on  
, but his hand went still on the doorknob as he heard footsteps behind him. He turned and wasn’t surprise to see Lance there.

“Dude, I’m fine,” he said.

“I know,” Lance said with a shrug and he reached for his own coat, “but just thinking it be wise for you to have backup when you talk to Mallory.”

Hunk’s eyes widened. “What makes you-”

“Man, come on,” Lance said as he rolled his eyes and zipped up. “I can read you like a book.” He stabbed his chest with his finger. “You’re going to Mallory in order to find out where she got that potion so that Blades don’t have to do it, right?”

Hunk opened and shut his mouth. He couldn’t deny that plan had been floating at the back of his head. “Yeah..I just..figured she’s more likely to talk to someone she knows.”

Lance raised an eyebrow. “You mean the person she just forcely tired to get to fall in love with her?”

Hunk glared. “You make it sound like she’s a criminal.”

“It’s at the very least a very jerk move to do, Hunk and borderline on the creepy side,” Lance remarked and held up his hand. “Look, I agree with you, but I rather I was with you to make sure she didn’t pull anything else.”

“I’m twice her size,” Hunk remarked.

“And you wouldn’t hurt a fly unless you had no choice,” Lance said as he crossed his arms. “Hunk, either you let me come with you or I go into the kitchen right now, tell the others your plan and you’ll have the whole gang as your personal army.” He moved his face in closer. “Considering how angry both Keith, Pidge and Allura are, do you want that?” 

Hunk paused, and his mind drifted back to the conversation he had eavesdropped on before he entered. He couldn’t imagine Allura turning someone into a frog, but she often dropped such rules when the protection of her family was involved. Plus, there was no telling what Keith might do in the same position or Pidge for that matter.

He sighed and shook a finger. “Fine, but let me do the talking and I don’t want you right next to me when I see her alone.”

“As long as you’re outside and I can see you, that’s fine with me, bro,” Lance said as he reached for the knob. “Come on, we can drop by that cafe on the way and get some donuts.”

Hunk shook his head, zipped up his own coat and headed outside.

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The market was active, but not over crowded. Hunk spotted Mister Heart handing a woman a bag of oranges and gave a smile to Hunk and Lance. 

“Morning, boys,” he greeted with a wave. “What can I do for you today?” He pointed over his shoulder. “I just got in some fresh lemons. Mixed with hot water and honey, and they’re perfect for colds-”

“Those sound great,” Hunk said as he gave a small smile. “I’ll buy some in a minute, but I need to talk to Mallory.”

Mister Heart frowned. “Mallory? What for?”

Hunk opened and shut his mouth. He hadn’t thought Mister Heart would ask. “Uh..well.”

“Hunk just wanted to ask about a recipe she gave him,” Lance quickly cut in as he wrapped an arm around Hunk.

Mister Heart scratched his head. “A recipe? Huh, I know she has been trying to be a better cook recently, but I didn’t realize she was exchanging recipes with you.”

Hunk took a deep breath while he made a mental note to thank Lance later. “Yeah...but..I think she might have made a mistake with the one she gave me. Hence why I wanted to check with her.”

It was at least mostly true.

Mister Heart nodded. “Well, she should be back any...Oh! There’s my girl!”

Mallory huffed as she ran up carrying two drinks in her hand. “Sorry, Dad! The line for coffee was long and…” She blushed upon seeing Hunk and nearly spilled the drink. “H-Hunk, what are you doing here?”

Hunk narrowed his eyes and cleared his throat. “I need to talk to you,” he said as he stepped up. “It’s about the ‘recipe’ you gave me yesterday.”

Mallory blinked in confusion and then suddenly her face became pale. “Oh...that..um..drink ‘recipe’?”

“Yeah, that,” Hunk said as he rubbed his neck. “I notice there was a problem with the ingredients.”

Mallory fidgeted and solely looked tempted to hide under a table, until her dad leaned over and took the drinks. 

“Why don’t you two go sit on the bench over there?” he said as he tilted his head. “Should be quiet there.”

Mister Heart’s face was unreadable, but Hunk wasn’t certain the man still believe it was about recipes anymore as he turned his attention to Lance. “Why don’t I show you those lemons I mentioned?”

“Sure,” Lance said as he leaned over to Hunk and whispered “I’ll be watching, buddy.”

Hunk gave Lance’s hand a small squeeze before he and Mallory headed over to the bench. He was the first to sit, as Mallory fixed her hair and slightly shook as she sat.

“So...um….,” she stammered as she toyed with the scarf around her neck, “what..did you want to talk about exactly?”

Hunk shut his eyes. There was no point of being subtle at this point was there? He might as well just be straight.

“That drink you gave me yesterday,” he said sternly as he narrowed his eyes, “were you trying to get me to drink a love potion?”

Mallory’s body stiffened. Her eyes widened as she backed up against the back of the bench. “I...I…”

Hunk held up his hands. “Look, I promise I won’t tell your dad, but you gotta tell me the truth.” He pointed to himself. “That stuff you gave me made me sick.”

Mallory’s hands dropped into her lap. “It did?”

“Yeah, and honestly it was looking like you were trying to poison me,” Hunk said.

Mallory gasped as she leaned forward. “WHAT?! No, Hunk I would never want to hurt you!”

“But it’s okay to try to force me to love you?” Hunk asked as he raised an eyebrow.

Mallory raised and then lowered her hand. She sniffled as she removed her glasses to wipe her eyes. “I’m...I’m sorry, you’re right.” She reached into her pocket for a tissue. “I like you a lot, Hunk. You’re so nice and sweet..but I..I just didn’t think you saw me that way.”

Hunk felt his cheeks blush, but he kept quiet.

“I knew it was wrong, but..I thought it would be okay for us to just get started and you would fall in love with me later,” he blew her nose into the tissue. “The seller promised me it would wear off after a couple of days.”

Hunk sighed as he felt some tension leave his body. So, Mallory had been told the love potion would wear off. That was slightly better than assuming she meant for it to be permanent.

He reached out and patted her shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay.”

Mallory shook her head. “No, it’s not. I didn’t know it would make you sick.”

“I know, but Mallory where did you even hear you could buy a love potion?” Hunk leaned in. “It’s important.”

Mallory swallowed as she blew her nose again. “I heard it from one of our customers.”

Hunk blinked. “A customer?”

“She’s a new one that doesn’t come by often, but she overhead me talk to my friend Lisa and said there was a shop where I buy one,” Mallory said as her shoulders slumped. “I thought she was just pranking me, but when I got there...the seller knew exactly what I was talking about.”

Hunk frowned. A customer? Had she been another witch? Or just a regular person that heard about it?

“Where’s the shop that sold you the love potion?” Hunk asked.

Mallory swallowed. “It’s an antique shop, and the lady told me I had to ask him for the ‘romance novels’ and he would know what I mean.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small pad of paper and a pen. “Here, I’ll write it down.”

“That be a big help, thanks,” Hunk said.

Mallory sighed as she scribbled it down. “I was so stupid.”

“You’re not stupid, you just took very bad advice,” Hunk said as he patted her shoulder. “And you’re trying to make it right.”

Mallory shut her eyes as she lowered the pen and held up her head. “I...can assume you don’t want to go out with me.”

Hunk blushed as he placed a hand over his chest. “Um..no, I am really flattered you like me that much but..I’m just not interested.” He shook a finger. “B-but you’re a real cute girl, so I’m certain you’ll be catching someone’s eye before long.”

Mallory bite her lower lip and gave a nod. “See, you’re way too nice. That’s why I like you,” she said as she ripped off the paper. “I just hope you can forgive me.”

“I will,” Hunk said as he took the paper, “but you have to swear to NEVER to do something like this again. Alright?”

Mallory nodded. “Yes, yes I promise,” she wiped her eyes. “I’m going to need a minute, or Dad is going to wonder why my eyes are so puffy and red.”

“Sure thing,” Hunk said as he patted her arm. “Do you want me to sit with you?”

Mallory shook her head. “No, I’ve caused you enough trouble.” She took a deep breath as she held her head up. “I really am sorry.”

“I believe you,” Hunk said as he rose and waved. “I’ll see you around, okay?”

Mallory nodded as Hunk headed back to the fruit stand. He spotted Lance was standing just a foot away with a small paper bag in his arms.

“What you buy?” Hunk asked as he pointed.

“Lemons,” Lance said as he glanced over to Mallory. “All good?”

Hunk nodded as he held up the paper. “Yup, I got the information no problem. Hopefully this will be enough so the Blades don’t have to question her.”

Lance smiled as he held a thumbs up. “You’re a good guy, Hunk. This is why the ladies fall for you.”

Hunk blushed as they began to walk. “It’s only been Mallory.”

Lance laughed. “Dude, trust me you are a ladies magnet without realizing it. Just ask Shay.”

Hunk thought about asking further, but then shook his head. “Yeah, nope, I’ve got enough love troubles today. Let’s just go home before anything else happens.” He stuffed his hands into his coat pocket. “And later I’m doing some much needed stress baking.”

“And all that tells me is that I should tell you more about it so you’ll bake more,” Lance teased to which Hunk promptly punched him in the shoulder.

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Lotor grasped his chin in thought as he read over the results of his latest experiments. “So a combination of those spells caused another backlash,” he muttered as he sipped his tea. “Perhaps, next I should-”

He heard a door slam.

“You need to tell him,” Acxa’s voice rang out.

“It’s not that big of a deal,” Ezor’s voice whined.

“That remains to be seen!”

Lotor raised an eyebrow as he got up from his desk and entered the hallway. Near the door, Acxa was glaring while Ezor wastrying to have a staring contest with the ceiling. Lotor noticed only one bag of groceries had been placed on the floor, which was rather suspicious since he recalled giving them a rather long list.

“Dare I ask what happened?” he asked dryly.

Ezor yelped as she stood straight while Acxa sighed and poked Ezor’s back. 

“Tell him,” she growled.

Ezor sheepishly rubbed her neck as she gave a shaky smile. “So..um...we kind of can’t go back to that fruit stand anymore?”

Lotor raised an eyebrow as he leaned against the wall. “May I ask why?” It was a shame if that was the case. It had been the best place to get fresh apples.

“There was a Blade there,” Acxa said as she crossed her arms and never removed her eyes off of Ezor.

Lotor’s body stiffened. “A Blade?” His eyes narrowed. “I take it he wasn’t just shopping?”

“No,” Acxa replied. “He didn’t see us, but I shifted into dog form to eavesdrop on why he was there.” She jabbed a finger at Ezor. “And it’s her fault.”

“It is not!” Ezor snapped. “How was I supposed to predict-”

“I shall decide if it was your fault or not,” Lotor cut in sharply, “but you will tell me exactly what happened.”

Ezor cringed and then her body slumped. “Okay, okay,” she said as she waved her hands. “So, the thing is I overheard the fruit seller’s daughter that she had this mega crush on some guy, but she was too chicken to ask him out so I told her where she could get a love potion.”

Acxa pinched the bridge of her nose as Lotor’s brain processed this. 

“Love potion?” he muttered as he stepped closer. “Ezor, you know fully well those things-”

“Don’t work, I know,” Ezor replied back, “but I figured it be an ice breaker or worse case scenario she can go all Florence Nightingale on him. Guys always fall for stuff like that.”

“Only in your mind,” Acxa snapped. “You just thought it be funny.”

Ezor chewed her bottom lip. “Yeah...can’t deny that wasn’t at least a factor.”

“If we can return to the matter at hand,” Lotor cut in briskly. “How does this ‘crush’ catch the attention of the Blades?” Far as Lotor knew, no one in that family held any magical connections.

Ezor gave a nervous laugh. “Yeah..um, that’s the funny part.” She pressed her fingers together. “Turns out, the guy that girl liked and used the potion on...was one of Allura’s familiars.”

Lotor’s eyes widened. “What? Which one?”

“Hunk,” Ezor said with a laugh. “Who knew, right?”

Lotor frowned as he looked to Acxa. “Is he alright?”

“From what I heard, yes,” she replied as she cast another glare towards Ezor. “However, the Blade was asking the girl if she perhaps knew the name of the woman who first told her of the love potion, but thankfully she never learned Ezor’s name.”

Ezor gave a forced laugh. “See, isn’t it good that usually Zethrid goes shopping with you?”

Acxa’s twitched an eye as she yanked on Ezor’s ear. “This isn’t something to laugh about! Do you know how much trouble it would be if the Blades found out about Lotor!”

“Ow, ow,” Ezor yelped as she wiggled free. “Hey, take it easy! I get it already! It was just a joke.”

Lotor stroked his chin in thought. “Hmm...yes, that part was clear.” He shut his eyes and nodded. “Well, at least she never learned your name so we’ll just have to avoid that place from now on.”

Both Ezor and Acxa blinked as they exchanged baffled looks.

“Um...not that I’m complaining,” Ezor said as she raised a hand, “but I thought you would be more angry.”

Lotor opened his eyes and nodded. “Oh, it’s an annoyance and you were very lucky the Blades didn’t find you,” he gave a sly smile, “however I am more intrigued on what this incident revealed to us.”

Acxa’s frowned tightened. “Which was?”

“If Hunk went to that same fruit stand, and if the girl knows him well enough to have a crush on him, then he must at least be a regular customer which means Allura lives nearby.” He gave a grin. “I deduced Allura live somewhere near us, but I had no idea we lived in the same town. This is very useful information.”

Ezor’s eyes lit up as she clasped her hands together. “So, that means I’m not in trouble?”

Lotor waved a hand. “I wouldn’t say that. I’m making it your job to feed the animals for the next two weeks.”

Ezor slumped as she pouted. “Really?”

“Keep whining and it’ll be a month,” Lotor said as he picked up the bag of groceries. “Oh, and a word of warning. Be mindful of Bandor, he’s been quite the biter lately.”

Ezor grumbled as she gave a quick bow and stormed out. Acxa frowned as she looked back to Lotor.

“You’re certain it’s nothing worry about?” she asked.

“As long as we don’t go back there it should be fine,” Lotor said as he carried the bag. “Now why don’t you assist me with my notes. I could use a second pair of eyes.”

“Yes, Sir,” Acxa said as she quickly followed him.

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The heat of the oven slammed into Hunk’s face as he reached inside for the pie. He checked over the brown crust and grinned as he shut the oven door. 

“Alright, apple pie is done too,” he declared as he set it on the counter.

Shiro laughed as he finished frosting a cupcake. “It smells great.” 

Hunk removed his oven mitts as he hung them up. “Hmm...I wonder what else I should bake?”

Shiro frowned as he set down the cupcake and frosted knife. “Hunk, as much as I love your baking I think we got enough things, don’t you?”

Hunk paused looked around at the two pans of lemon bars, the counter covered in frosted cupcakes and then at the fresh apple pie. He gave a sheepish smile as he scratched his chin.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” he replied as he untied his apron. “Sorry, but baking is the best way for me to relax.”

Shiro patted his shoulder. “I know, and considering the whole mess with Mallory we don’t blame you, but might be time to just relax with something else.”

Hunk nodded. He been thankful the address he brought back to give to Sven and Slav had been enough for the Blades to go on. It was worth the scolding Allura gave about him confronting Mallory by himself. He had a feeling Allura would be insisting on going with him when Mallory was working for a long while.

Hunk glanced to the clock. Sven and Slav had promised they would bring them an update once the witch selling the potion had been caught, but that had been yesterday and it was now mid-afternoon. Hunk was getting tired of waiting and baking had been the best way to past the time. Although, Shiro had a point. 

Hunk hung up his apron, blinked and pointed. “Hey, why is that pan of lemon bars half empty? I’ve only just finished making them like an hour ago.”

Shiro chuckled as he finished frosting the last cupcake. “Keith happened.”

“Keith?” Hunk asked as he scratched his head.

Shiro pretended to reach out for a bar. “Keith took one to sample, and then another and before I even realized it he walked away with half the pan.”

“Huh,” Hunk said as he frowned. “That’s surprising.” Keith was never a big person for sweet things. He tend to prefer more savory foods.

“Should I have stopped him?” Shiro asked.

Hunk waved a hand. “Naw, it’s fine, but I just never expected for Keith to take that many.”

“I honestly don’t believe Keith did either,” Shiro said with a shrug. “Granted, I think it was his first time eating a lemon bar.”

Hunk gave a sly smile. “I’ll make a note of it.”

He was slowly making a list of everyone’s favorites, but honestly he didn’t have much for Keith yet. Knowing this detail made it useful.

“Maybe I’ll put on a pot of tea,” Hunk said as he reached for the kettle. “Thanks again for the help, Shiro.”

Shiro grinned. “I know I’m not much use in a kitchen, but I can at least frost a cupcake-”

The doorbell rang. Hunk paused, turned to Shiro and he silently set the kettle aside as they exited the kitchen.

They found Keith had beaten them to the door and had stepped aside to let Slav and Sven, in his cat form, enter.

“Good day,” Slav greeted as he set his bag aside and turned his attention to Hunk. “You still feeling well, are you?”

Hunk nodded. “Yeah, still fine. How did everything go?”

Slav brought out a pocket watch and held out a finger. “Wait, wait. It’s better for Sven to explain and he shall be shifting back into his human form…..now!”

Slav tucked away his pocket watch as Sven shifted back into his human form. He smiled and gave a wave. “Whoo yoo.”

“Uh, hey,” Shiro said and then looked to Slav. “Is Sven only allowed to be in cat form at certain times of the day?”

Sven laughed as he rubbed his neck. “Oh, I can honestly switch back and forth whenever I like, but Slav and I figured it’s healthy for me to spend at least an hour a day in my cat form to reserve my own magical energy.”

“Not to mention it ensures he keeps his natural cat instincts sharps by at least twenty percent,” Slav said and then looked to Shiro. “Now that I think about it, I’m not certain I’ve ever seen you in cat form? Do you not do it often?”

Hunk saw Shiro’s eye twitch and quickly jumped in before he had to answer. “Hey, I was literally about to make some tea. How don’t you come in, I’ll bring out some snacks and you can tell us what exactly happened?”

Slav grasped his chin. “Well...meal time isn’t for another twenty minutes.”

“It will probably take that amount for the tea and food to be served and to gather everyone,” Sven said gently as he touched Slav’s shoulder. “I imagine all of Allura and her familiars will want to hear this.”

Slav nodded. “Ah, yes, good point, Sven. In that case we’ll gladly take you up on your offer.”

Shiro sighed, but gave a nod as he escorted Slav and Sven into the living room. Hunk then spotted Keith, grinned smugly and whispered in his ear. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure they don’t eat all the lemon bars.”

Keith blushed as he coughed into his hand. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“The crumbs on your chin say otherwise,” Hunk teased and tried not to laugh as Keith hastily brush them off with his hand.

0808080808080808080808080808080808080808080808080808080

“Alright, it’s probably still a bit hot,” Hunk said as he put the slice of pie onto a plate, “although Allura’s cooling spell really did help.”

Allura beamed with pride as she sipped her tea. “If it’s still too warm I could cast it again.”

“No, it’s good,” Hunk said quickly.

As useful as Allura’s cold wind spell was, there was always the risk of it accidently freezing something if it was cast too often. They learned that the hard way when Allura turned a bowl of soup into a bowl of ice.

Hunk handed the first slice to Slav before the went on to cut the next slice. He watched Slav silently examine the pie and then tap it with his fork before he gave a slow nod.

“This pie is very symmetrical and the apples looked evenly spread out within,” Slav said as he gave a thumbs up. “Very well done.”

“Uh, thanks,” Hunk said. 

That wasn’t quite the compliment he was use to getting, but he wasn’t going to argue.

Slav then narrowed his eyes. “Although, may I ask who frosted these cupcakes?” He pointed. “The frosting on those is very uneven.”

Shiro sighed as he raised a hand and Hunk handed him his slice. “That was me.”

Slav was silent as he slowly nodded. “Hmm, yes, I’m not surprised. I see your decorating skills are no better than your potion making skills.”

Shiro clenched his jaw as he seemed to stab his fork into his pie slice. “I’ll take note,” he said darkly.

Keith leaned over to Hunk. “Afterwards, I suggest checking for bent utensils,” he whispered.

Hunk nodded in agreement as Coran cleared his throat and he finished pouring the last cup of tea. “If we may get to the matter at hand?”

Sven nodded as he set down his cup. “It was exactly as Mallory told Hunk. The witch selling the love potions had it as a secret side business for his antique shop. Once we arrived, it didn’t take the Blades long to find his potions and put him under arrest.”

Lance frowned as he leaned. “So..what happens now? Does he go to magic jail or something?”

“How the Blades work isn’t quite the same as the normal police from my understanding,” Pidge said as she adjusted her glasses. “At least from what I read.”

“You would be correct,” Slav said as he set down his pie and wiped as his chin with a napkin. “We do sometimes contain witches, but only for those declared most dangerous. Most of the time since their crime is magical so is their punishment.”

“What does that mean?” Keith asked.

“The Blades have bracelets that once placed onto a witch it will block them from casting magic and will sometimes even make it difficult for them to remember how to cast magic,” Sven explained as he held up his own wrist. 

“So, it’s like a magical house arrest?” Keith asked with a frown.

“In a way, yes.”

Hunk cringed. That didn’t sound as bad as the memory wiping magic, but it didn’t sound pleasant.

“After that, a Blade will be assigned to check on the witch until it’s deem they have fulfilled their punishment,” Slav said. “Although, even after that it’s a long process to declare if they are truly fit to have their bracelets removed or not.”

“Okay,” Hunk said as he sat down. “So, the potion seller was arrested, will likely get those bracelets on him and that’s that? You didn’t have to bother Mallory again?”

Sven frowned as he nodded. “No, but we did have a Blade go talk to her again yesterday.”

Hunk’s eyes widened. “Why? I thought you guys-”

“It wasn’t anything serious,” Sven added quickly. “They merely wished to inform her they caught the seller and wanted to see if she could remember the name of the woman who told her about it in the first place.”

“Oh,” Hunk said softly as his eyes hardened. “But, when I asked Mallory she said she couldn’t remember the name.”

“And that’s what she told the Blade as well,” Slav said as he folded his hands. “She also promised she would keep an eye out for the woman if she appeared again.”

“But why would she matter?” Coran asked as he tugged at his mustache. “Do you suspect she’s an accomplice?”

Slav waved a hand. “After the report I read, the chances of that are about five percent. It’s more likely she was just another regular human that had heard about the potion. Kolivan just likes to be through in cases like these.”

Allura frowned as she folded her hands in her lap. “I can’t say I blame him. I’m just very relieved the witch making those potions was caught.”

Hunk gave a slow nod as he stood. “I’m going to get a drink of water. Be right back.”

The others continue to chatter as Hunk entered the kitchen and reached for a glass. As he turned on the tap he heard footsteps and wasn’t surprise to see it was Lance.

“You doing okay?” he asked as he leaned against the doorframe.

“Yeah,” Hunk said as he filled up his glass and turned off the tap. “I’m glad Mallory didn’t get into too much trouble, but the whole thing is just so bizarre.” He gulped down his water and set the glass on the table. “I mean, I still can’t believe she went to such extreme because she liked me.”

“Hey, you are a likeable guy,” Lance said as he walked up and patted his shoulder. “You need to give yourself more credit.”

Hunk shrugged. “Maybe..but I don’t even think I want that kind of ‘love’ ya know?” He set the empty glass on the counter and wiped his hands on the dish towel. “I mean, it’s not impossible, but the only kind of ‘love’ I want right now is just you guys and Allura. Ya know? Just family.”

“I hear you,” Lance replied with a grin and pointed himself. “Besides, the dating thing is a bit more complicated for us since we are actually cats.”

Hunk nodded. How would that even work? If someone wanted to date him and didn’t know about witches and magic? Would Hunk have to straight up tell them? Would he even want to go that far? The whole thing made his brain hurt.

The doorbell then rang.

Frowning, Hunk set aside the towel as Lance followed him to the door. “Wonder who that is?”

He answered and suddenly his frown was replaced with a grin after he opened it.

Shay smiled as she held a small box. “Hi, Hunk. I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Hey, Shay, and yeah we’re fine,” Hunk said as he pointed over his shoulder. “In fact, we’re having a bit of tea and some snacks if you wanted to join us.”

Shay waved a hand. “Oh, I would normally love to, but I got to head back to the bakery to help Dad decorate a wedding cake.” She held out the box. “I just came by to give you this. It’s a new banana bread recipe and I wanted your opinion on it.”

“Yeah, sure,” Hunk said as he took the box. “How was the recipe I gave you?”

“Oh, delicious,” Shay said as with a laugh. “And I actually found it’s even better if you throw in a some pecans too.”

“Ooh,” Hunk cooed as he pictured it in his head. “That’s a good idea. I’ll have to try that too.”

Shay smiled as began to walk away and wave. “Anyway, sorry to cut this short, but I need to go. I’ll talk to you later!”

“Sure thing,” Hunk said as he shut the door and peeked in the box. The smell struck his nose and he could already feel his mouth watering. “That smells good.”

He looked Lance who was eyeing the box like it contained a dagger. “What?”

Lance tapped the lid. “Nothing...but maybe have Allura check it out before you eat a slice?”

Hunk blinked puzzled but this his brain picked up Lance’s meaning and he growled. “Oh, come on! Shay would never-”

Lance waved his hands. “Hey, I don’t think she would either, but she clearly likes you and not a bad idea to play it safe.”

Hunk rolled his eyes. “Not this again! Shay is just a good friend.”

“And you thought the same thing with Mallory a few days ago, right?” Lance said as he crossed his arms.

Hunk raised and then lowered his hand in defeat. He trusted Shay, he truly did but he knew the others would be watching him like a hawk if he so much ate a crumb before Allura checked it.

“Fine,” he muttered as he handed the box over to Lance. “Never thought I need to test my food for poisons.”

Lance patted his shoulder in sympathy. “The price of being popular and a ‘Hunk of Love’, dude.”

Hunk groaned as he thought Lance’s pun was way worse than any love potion.


End file.
